From Air & Space, from the impossible dream of a space-based shield, missile defense has come down to Earth — but will it work? The Stealth Media Mogul: Billionaire Philip Anschutz is quietly building a small empire of social-networking sites, newspapers and now a leading conservative weekly. From Wired, an article on the Great Wall of Facebook: The social network's plan to dominate the Internet — and keep Google out (and more and more from Business Week). In the battle between Facebook and MySpace, a digital "white flight". Picture Perfect: Why Golden Books are golden. In Defense of Google Books: Don’t listen to dystopian monopoly-mongers. For our children’s sake, we should follow the Trappist monks and turn off everything, including ourselves, once in a while. From TAP, Starr, Reich and Kuttner discuss the perils and promise of a public-insurance option. Tyler Cowen on one lesson from the crisis: It's time to create your own economy. Jon Shields on what abortionist killers believe: The consequences of a fringe theology. Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church, is passionate about gun rights and urges his flock to bring guns to church. A look at the unlikely friendship between Farrah Fawcett and Ayn Rand. How does our language shape the way we think? Lera Boroditsky investigates.

The January 2009 issue of PS: Political Science & Politics is free online, on forecasts and the 2008 campaign and reforming the presidential nomination. Alan Wolfe on why hypocrisy is the least of Mark Sanford's sins. Caught on Tape: Christopher Hitchens on what the Nixon tapes tell us about the Republican Party (and more). Historians' advice for Dick Cheney: What allows a political memoir to stand the test of time? Meet the new history boys and girls: Theory is a thing of the past for these hip young historians — they're too cool for school. After the Barbarians: Michael Dirda on how classical scholars have redefined and rediscovered the fascinations of "Late Antiquity." Is Studio 54 the right spot for the ultimate existential protest against the empty avarice of the post-war era? A review of LeMay by Barrett Tillman. A review of Does God Hate Women? by Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom. A review of Hacking the Earth: Understanding the Consequences of Geoengineering by Jamais Cascio. Ode to the Cup Holder: It changed our relationship with car interiors and forced manufacturers to innovate. Now, read it again: Like old friends and favorite haunts, some books reward revisiting. John Judis on why we need a second stimulus: Don't be fooled by dropping unemployment rates.

From The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell reviews Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson (and more and more); Ryan Lizza on Sheila Bair and the White House financial debate; and how much good will Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Agency do? Everything I ever needed to know in life I learned from South Park. From Americas Quarterly, the Honduran coup is still a coup — but where was everybody before? (and more and more) Repression 101: The history of using repression to save regimes is long — but when the hammer comes down, the impact is unpredictable. Why does Japan, the world's most efficient economy, have so many elevator operators and gas station attendants? Trinie Dalton reviews Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart and Mushroom Magick: A Visionary Field Guide by Arik Roper. A look at how the Metro crash may exemplify the paradox of human-machine interaction. An interview with Henry Badenhorst, founder of Gaydar. Some bemoan Holden Caulfield's fading appeal among youth, but why would metaphors that worked for us work for them? The Art of the Political Comeback: Former politicians and political experts what it takes for officials embroiled in scandals to recover their political viability.

From Dissent, what ought we to hope and work for, as a just future for families in our society?, asks Martha Nussbaum in her essay “A Right to Marry”, and Martha Ackelsberg, Stephanie Coontz, and Katha Pollitt respond. Was Ronald Reagan an even worse president than George W. Bush? From The Exiled, an article on Mark Sanford’s twinkie defense: “I cheated on my wife because of high taxes”; and if we’re going to do death-tributes, here are some honest ones: Farrah Fawcett, a Surprisingly Polite Woman! Michael Jackson, If Only He’d Died Younger! #Dickwhisperer, a history: The tussle that makes us all look “pathetic”. Look at this fucking hipster basher: Never mind news articles that link economic woes to a culture shift, the report of the hipster’s death is an exaggeration — the proof is in the pieces. Sam Tanenhaus on how the culture wars may not have ended, but on some fronts the combat has gotten rather quiet (and a response). Ultimate fighting literature: Unexpected delights from men who pound each other into submission. Black and white and dead all over: Stop the presses — will journalism take democracy down with it? Julian Baggini looks at how UNESCO is promoting philosophy around the world. Hippie Picasso: Why is late Picasso enjoying a surge in demand?